Ethics Committee announces probe of House GOP leader

Feb. 6, 2014
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by Paul Singer, USA TODAY

by Paul Singer, USA TODAY

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WASHINGTON - The House Ethics Committee announced Thursday that it is reviewing misconduct allegations against Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, the fourth-ranking Republican in the House. The committee did not explain the nature of the charges, but the case apparently deals with allegations that McMorris Rodgers improperly mingled congressional and campaign funds.

The review does not imply a violation has occurred, the committee noted.

The case was referred to the Ethics Committee by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which conducted a preliminary review of the allegations. The OCE was created by Congress in 2008 to vet allegations of misconduct and make recommendations to the Ethics Committee for further action.

McMorris Rodgers is the top-ranking woman in Republican leadership and was tapped to give the GOP response to the State of the Union Address last week. She chairs the House Republican Conference, the organizational forum for House Republicans.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Boehner was aware of the ethics case when McMorris Rodgers was asked to deliver the GOP response. McMorris Rodgers will not be asked to step down from her leadership post while the Ethics Committee considers her case, Steel said.

McMorris Rodgers' spokesman Nate Hodson said Thursday, "We are confident that every activity was compliant with all federal laws, House rules, and standards of conduct. We are fully cooperating and look forward to seeing this matter dismissed."

USA TODAY reported Wednesday that McMorris Rodgers had spent nearly $70,000 on legal services at the end of last year for firms that specialize in congressional investigations, suggesting that investigators may have been exploring the case for months. On Wednesday, Hodson told USA TODAY those expenditures were a routine part of her leadership job. "We have, on a regular basis, a number of things that come up that we have to talk to outside counsel about," he said.

McMorris Rodgers' attorney Elliot Berke said Thursday the OCE probe has been going on for some time.

"As has become an unfortunate rite of passage for many members of Congress, the OCE regularly refers matters to the House Ethics Committee for further review. Such reviews are virtually automatic, and as the committee always points out, does not indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the committee," Berke said in a statement.

"The congresswoman and her office cooperated fully with the OCE during its inquiry and have already begun assisting the committee with its review," Berke said. "We are confident that the committee will ultimately find that the allegations were baseless and that her office always followed all laws, rules and standards of conduct."

In 2013, the Ethics Committee received 11 referrals from the OCE, according to committee statistics released in January.

The committee probe involves allegations that she mingled congressional and campaign funds for her late 2012 campaign for conference chairwoman, said an aide close to McMorris Rodgers. These campaigns operate like any other organizational leadership race, and while members of Congress are generally barred from using campaign funds for official duties, the House ethics manual allows for the use of campaign funds for those races. But it also cautions that official House resources - taxpayer funds - should not be mixed with campaign dollars for any activity in such a race.

The aide requested anonymity because details of the probe have not yet been publicly disclosed by either the Ethics Committee or the Office of Congressional Ethics.

The aide said that McMorris Rodgers had closely consulted during her leadership race with both the House Ethics Committee and the Committee on House Administration, and that she believed she was complying with their guidance. The aide also said the allegations were driven by a disgruntled former employee.

McMorris Rodgers' first legal payments payments began a few weeks after USA TODAY published a story in July noting that McMorris Rodgers and other House Republicans were paying a campaign consultant for assistance in their congressional offices.

An investigation like this is uncommon, said Craig Holman, a lobbyist with the Congress Watch program of the consumer advocate group Public Citizen.

"If the case has been passed up to the Ethics Committee, then it is a serious matter," Holman said. "The OCE will begin to pursue any complaint and then will dismiss most cases. ... But once it actually goes to the Ethics Committee and they begin their investigation then this is pretty serious."

The Ethics Committee also announced Thursday that it is looking into allegations against Rep. Markwayne Mullin, a first-term Republican from Oklahoma. Spokeswoman Ashley Kehl told USA TODAY, "Congressman Mullin is cooperating with the House Ethics Committee and believes he is in full compliance with all ethics rules. There will be no further comment at this time." She did not offer an explanation of the allegations against him.